Reduced Need for Rescue Antiemetics and Improved Capacity to Eat in Patients Receiving Acupuncture Compared to Patients Receiving Sham Acupuncture or Standard Care during Radiotherapy
Table 2
Clinical characteristics of the patients in the verum acupuncture, sham acupuncture, or standard care group.
Characteristics
Needling groups
Standard care group
Verum acupuncture
Sham acupuncture
Tumor diagnosis (%)
Gynecological
66 (66)
71 (71)
37 (60)
Colon/rectal
28 (28)
27 (27)
11 (18)
Testicular
2 (2)
0 (0)
6 (10)
Pancreas, stomach, or gallbladder
4 (4)
2 (2)
8 (13)
Total radiotherapy dose (Gray) mean ± SD
50.3 ± 10.3
41.8 ± 10.0
Concomitant chemotherapy, (%)
Yes
28 (28)
29 (29)
15 (25)
No
72 (72)
70 (71)
46 (75)
Medication for any other illness/symptom, (%)
Yes
80 (80)
88 (88)
40 (65)
No
19 (19)
12 (12)
22 (35)
Gender (%)
Man
18 (18)
14 (14)
19 (31)
Woman
82 (82)
86 (86)
43 (69)
Age years: mean ± SD
64 ± 13.8
63 ± 13.9
63 ± 14.5
19–40
7 (6)
6 (6)
6 (10)
41–60
34 (31)
34 (32)
17 (27)
61–89
68 (62)
66 (62)
39 (63)
Labor status (%)
Employed
33 (33)
38 (38)
21 (34)
Retired/sickness pension
65 (65)
57 (57)
26 (42)
Other
2 (2)
4 (4)
15 (24)
Education level (%)
Elementary school
41 (44)
53 (54)
27 (44)
Secondary school
29 (31)
26 (27)
17 (27)
University
24 (26)
19 (19)
18 (29)
Previous nausea (%)
During previous chemotherapy
Not relevant
55 (57)
58 (60)
43 (69)
No
11 (11)
12 (12)
15 (24)
Yes
30 (31)
28 (29)
4 (6)
During pregnancy
Not relevant
26 (29)
28 (30)
33 (54)
No
19 (21)
24 (26)
6 (10)
Yes
44 (49)
40 (43)
22 (36)
In any previous situations
No
22 (23)
29 (30)
17 (27)
Yes
74 (77)
69 (70)
44 (72)
N of previous nausea situations, md (25th–75th percentile)
2 (1–3)
2 (1–3)
2 (0–3)
0–2 situations
68 (70)
67 (68)
44 (71)
3–5 situations
29 (30)
31 (32)
18 (29)
Numbers () of patients answering the questions are presented. other conditions than emesis. travelling, unpleasant smells/sights, anxiety, chemotherapy, or pregnancy. SD = standard deviation. Md = median.
